“US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire”

Thomas Massie (a Republican Congressman from Kentucky) criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson‘s giving foreign aid to places such as Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.  Massie posted this on X/Twitter on Decembe 17, 2024, and it received over 35,000 likes:
 
“US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire. 🔥”
 
A follow-up post on X/Twitter a few minutes later shows on image of Mike Johnson doing exactly this watering.
 
 
Wikipedia: Thomas Massie
Thomas Harold Massie (born January 13, 1971) is an American politician and former engineer. A member of the Republican Party, Massie has been the United States representative for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district since 2012. The district covers much of northeastern Kentucky, but is dominated by the Kentucky side of the Cincinnati area and Louisville’s eastern suburbs.
(...))
Massie is known for his advocacy of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberties, often aligning with libertarian principles in his voting record.
 
X/Twitter
Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire. 🔥
7:25 PM · Dec 17, 2024
 
X/Twitter
John J. Vecchione
@VecchTweets
It’s actually putting out fires in your neighbor’s yard so your house doesn’t catch on fire.
Quote
Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
Dec 17, 2024
US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire. 🔥
7:56 PM · Dec 17, 2024
 
X/Twitter
LibertyLovingMom
@LibertyLovingM1
It’s worse than that,
It’s like watering the neighbor’s yard
WITH YOUR WATER SUPPLY
while your house is on fire.
7:59 PM · Dec 17, 2024
 
X/Twitter
NBN
@NunyaBizNews
🚨UPDATE: Thomas Massie criticizes US foreign aid, saying, “US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire.”
1:07 AM · Dec 18, 2024
 
X/Twitter
ecom 🇺🇸
@ecomuaf
Massie going scorched-Earth-meme on Mike Johnson, using Grok.  Interesting times
“US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire. 🔥”
Quote
Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
Dec 17, 2024
Replying to @RepThomasMassie
10:21 AM · Dec 18, 2024
   
Fox News
Massie drops colorful analogy opposing foreign aid, mocks Speaker Johnson with AI-generated image
Massie says he has GOP colleagues who would rather run over their mother than slash government spending
By Alex Nitzberg
Published December 18, 2024 11:28am EST
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has compared America’s practice of doling out aid to foreign countries to a preposterous hypothetical scenario in which an individual waters their neighbor’s yard while their own house burns.
 
“US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire,” he tweeted.

The congressman followed up his initial comment by sharing an AI-generated image of House Speaker Mike Johnson holding a hose as flames emerge from a house behind him.